Port Polska, Poland’s New Airport: Construction and Financing
[Visualisation of the new Airport in Poland @ CPK / Press materials] The new airport project in Poland, located around 60 kilometres from Warsaw, forms part of the Port Polska Programme. Until recently, the overall investment concept was commonly referred to as Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK). However, this sometimes led to misunderstandings, as the name was used interchangeably for both the airport itself and the wider transport infrastructure associated with it.
In fact, Port Polska is the name of the entire strategic investment programme, not just the airport. The programme is implemented by Centralny Port Komunikacyjny, the Polish state-owned company responsible for delivering a comprehensive national transport system integrating air, rail, and road infrastructure.
As part of the Port Polska Programme, a new state-of-the-art airport will be constructed between Warsaw and Łódź, alongside a high-speed rail network and supporting road connections. The airport is designed to handle approximately 34 million passengers annually in its initial phase, with a modular layout allowing for future expansion in line with long-term traffic growth and market demand.
Why does Warsaw need a new airport?
This is the most hotly debated issue surrounding this project. I will therefore address this question in a separate article and list all the pros and cons. One thing, however, is fundamentally clear: Chopin Airport has reached its maximum capacity. There is simply no room for more. In addition, the area is too small to create an economically viable cargo airport. When the airport was opened around 100 years ago, it was located about seven kilometres away from the nearest built-up area. Today, it is surrounded by large residential estates.
Financing the largest infrastructure project in post-war Poland
Chopin Airport 2025 @ Adrian Grycuk, CC BY-SA 3.0 PL, via Wikimedia Commons
Polish Airports (Polskie Porty Lotnicze, PPL) have put all their cards on the table when it comes to financing the most ambitious and largest infrastructure project in post-war Poland. Investment in Port Polska, a central element of the Central Transport Hub (CPK), will be financed 30 percent from own funds and 70 percent through external capital.
Roadmap to 2032: the role of PPL and CPK
Adam Sanocki, a member of the management board of PPL, outlined a roadmap in an interview with the Polish Press Agency (Polska Agencja Prasowa, PAP) that is intended to lead to the opening of the new airport in 2032. Under the agreement concluded with the CPK company, PPL will assume the role of strategic investor.
The division of responsibilities is clear: CPK is responsible for the construction process and the “first groundbreaking”, while PPL is to prepare the foundations for the airport’s operational activities. From the passengers’ perspective, this includes the particularly important and complex relocation of civil air traffic from Warsaw’s Chopin Airport.
Billions on the table: where does the money come from?
The financial scale of the project is impressive. By 2032, Polish Airports intend to invest a total of around PLN 4.6 billion in capital. Of this, just under PLN 1.3 billion will come from the company’s own generated funds, while the lion’s share—up to PLN 3.3 billion—will consist of external financing instruments.
At the beginning of 2026, the composition of the banking consortium that will finance this gigantic undertaking is expected to be announced.
First tranche and flexible capital management
Initially, PPL will acquire a minority stake in the company PortPolska.Lotnisko. The first tranche of funds is to be transferred as early as the first quarter of the coming year—potentially around PLN 1 billion, earmarked among other things for the start of construction work.
This strategy is intended to enable flexible allocation of capital, depending on construction progress in Baranów, Wiskitki and Teresin.
PPL’s financial starting position
PPL is not entering this project empty-handed. After the pandemic-related slump, air traffic has recovered significantly, which is reflected in the company’s financial results. Capital is being accumulated at a pace that allows for an optimistic view of future obligations.
Currently, PPL holds around PLN 1.9 billion in liquid assets. Forecasts for 2025 are even better: revenues are expected to reach PLN 1.7 billion, while net profit is projected to exceed PLN 600 million. Interestingly, the main financial driver behind the construction of Port Polska is expected to be Chopin Airport itself.
The Okęcie paradox: modernising the old to build the new
Although Chopin Airport is to be closed to civil traffic once the new airport opens, PPL does not intend to cut back on its modernisation. On the contrary: investments in the Warsaw airport are intended to generate maximum profits, which will then be transferred to Baranów.
Following the modernisation of Okęcie, the company’s annual net profit is expected to rise to around PLN 1 billion. This money is to flow directly into the investment in Port Polska. It is a model of self-financing development, in which today’s market leader finances its future, significantly larger infrastructure.
CPK at full speed: permits and total costs
The entire CPK project is gaining momentum. The CPK company has already submitted 19 applications for building permits, underscoring its determination to keep to the schedule.
The estimated total cost of the investment up to 2032 amounts to around PLN 131.7 billion. The airport component alone will consume more than PLN 42 billion.
Visualisation @ Foster + Partner
Ownership perspective: how PPL can become the owner of Port Polska
The current structure, with PPL as a minority shareholder and CPK as the majority shareholder, is designed as a transitional solution. The investment agreement provides mechanisms that will allow PPL to become the sole owner of the new airport in the long term.
The key instrument is the so-called aport, meaning the contribution of PPL’s entire assets into the new company. At the start of Port Polska’s operations, equipment, know-how and, above all, employees are to be transferred.
Another step is the contribution of the land at Okęcie. After its reclassification from aviation-related to commercial use—expected after 2032—its market value will increase significantly. This will allow for a gradual increase in shares, potentially leading to full takeover.
In the long term, PPL’s involvement could grow from PLN 4.6 billion to around PLN 9 billion, opening the path to ownership of up to 100 percent of the shares.
People and processes: building the operational centre
The investment is not only about concrete and steel, but above all about operations. PPL has already begun assembling an operational team to run the new airport. Experts in security, IT, cargo and transfer passenger handling are being sought and deployed.
The hub model in particular is seen as both the greatest challenge and the greatest opportunity for Port Polska, which in its first phase is designed for a capacity of 34 million passengers per year.
Test operations at Chopin Airport
A key element of the strategy is testing new solutions during ongoing operations. All innovations that are later to be implemented in Baranów will first be introduced and tested at Chopin Airport.
This way, staff will move to the new airport in 2032 with proven procedures, avoiding typical start-up problems such as those experienced at other new airports in Europe—for example, Berlin Brandenburg.
Timeline: construction, certification and opening
Actual construction is scheduled to begin in 2026. The year 2031 is reserved for certification processes. In 2032, the first passengers are expected to use Port Polska, along with the first section of the high-speed rail line on the route Warsaw – Port Polska – Łódź.
Conclusion: more than a construction project
Port Polska is not just an infrastructure project, but above all a massive financial and organisational operation. Its success will largely depend on two factors: the continued strong financial performance of Chopin Airport and the confidence of the banks that are expected to provide the missing billions in the coming years.
